


The Greatest Gift

by Sapphy, SapphyWatchesYouSleep (Sapphy)



Series: Sherlock isn't the sociopath in the Holmes family [3]
Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: 5+1 Things, Because Sherlock clearly isn't the sociopath in the Holmes family, Brothers, Fluff, Gen, Psychopathology & Sociopathy, Some cats where harmed in the making of this fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-10
Updated: 2012-03-10
Packaged: 2017-11-01 17:33:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/359469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sapphy/pseuds/Sapphy, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sapphy/pseuds/SapphyWatchesYouSleep
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five things people gave to Sherlock, and one thing he gives to his brother.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Greatest Gift

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Русский available: [Щедрый дар](https://archiveofourown.org/works/914957) by [Regis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Regis/pseuds/Regis)
  * Inspired by [A Family Tradition](https://archiveofourown.org/works/358061) by [Sapphy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sapphy/pseuds/Sapphy), [SapphyWatchesYouSleep (Sapphy)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sapphy/pseuds/SapphyWatchesYouSleep). 



> Beta'd by Dasorine

**1**

When Sherlock is five his father gives him a tarantula, with the misguided hope of fostering his interest in nature. In anything that isn’t dead. He watches it closely for two days, feeding it live insects, and then he asks Mycroft to kill it. Their father nearly faints when he discovers them dissecting it on the kitchen table. That is the first gift he remembers receiving.

**2**

When he’s eight, his mother (who is inherently pragmatic) gives him a book on psychology. There’s a bookmark on the page marked ‘Antisocial Behaviour Disorder’.

“Are you a sociopath?” He asks Mycroft later when they’re playing in the woods.

“Of course I am,” Mycroft replies, “But they won’t diagnose me until I’m 18. Now what do you what to learn about next?”

Sherlock says cats and Mycroft spends the afternoon setting traps.

That is the most illuminating gift he ever receives.

**3**

For his ninth birthday Mycroft gives him a lab. There’s a chemistry set, a real one, not one of those mini ones for kids that come in a colourful box and contain nothing dangerous. There’s also a microscope, the most expensive Mycroft could afford, and a mahogany case full of slides, already prepared with samples of human skin and blood. Sherlock doesn’t ask where he got them from. Mycroft always was imaginative when it came to dealing with bullies. That is the most thoughtful gift he ever receives.

**4**

The last thing his grandmother ever gives him is advice.

“Be careful of your brother, my dear,” she says, her tiny form looking frail and ancient against the stark whiteness of the hospital sheets. “He adores you and he’d never deliberately hurt you but he doesn’t always understand what will hurt people or why.”

Sherlock thought that most of the time he didn’t either – growing up idolising a sociopath will do that for you – but he understood what she meant. As much as he loved him, he must never forget that Mycroft is dangerous. That’s the most useful gift he ever receives.

**5**

John gives Sherlock his attention. Whenever he needs a sounding board, or an extra pair of hands or even just some company, John is there, at his elbow, giving his time and admiration and energy. Sherlock hates to be ignored but with John there he’s always the centre of someone’s attention. It’s the most heartfelt gift he ever receives.

**+1**

Mycroft gives the Stradivarius to Sherlock (and there are bloodstains on the case from where the original, less worthy, owner had refused to give it up) for selfish reasons. He has few feelings of his own but he could feel the emotion in music. He can’t play himself – one needs far more heart than he has to be a musician – but when he listens to Sherlock play he can savour the borrowed emotions and pretend, just for a little while, that he’s a whole person. And that is the greatest gift of all.


End file.
